Sawt Falasteen - Mexico doubles down on security before 2026 World Cup

The opening game will be held in the city on Thursday between Mexico and South Africa.

The global tournament comes three months after the killing of a powerful drug lord unleashed shootouts and highway blockades in western Mexico, leaving over 60 dead.

The country now expects over 5 million visitors as it co-hosts the world's premier football championship alongside Canada and the United States.

The tourism surge is nothing new for Mexico, where millions visit every year.

As a part of "Plan Kukulkan," authorities are overseeing the deployment of almost 100,000 members of the military, police, and private firms to provide security for the World Cup.

"The city has a lot of experience organizing these types of events and doing crowd management. There's trust," Mexico City police chief Pablo Vazquez told AFP.

It is the third time Mexico has hosted the World Cup.

- 'Guaranteeing' peace -

Overshadowing the days before the tournament are thousands of protesting teachers, who have blockaded highways and led the government to cordon off the historic Zocalo square with metal barricades.

The football fan zone will be held in the Zocalo, where spectators will watch live-streamed games on a massive screen -- with President Claudia Sheinbaum planning to watch Thursday's inaugural match.

Protests have intensified the already glacial traffic in Mexico City, where authorities fear the teachers will follow through on their threat to shut down roads before the opening game.

"We are going to guarantee...that the World Cup inauguration is well-executed, in peace and tranquility," Sheinbaum said on Monday.

But the violence following the death of the druglord Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera on February 22 revealed the limitations of the country's security policies.

Gunmen for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) burned stores and blocked highways in 20 of Mexico's 32 states after elite soldiers killed him roughly 130 kilometers (80 miles) from Guadalajara, one of the World Cup host cities.

Sheinbaum gave "all guarantees" for the World Cup, saying there would be "zero risk" for visitors.

- 'Weird' -

Police have been deployed in Mexico City's high-end Roma and Condesa neighborhoods in the final days before the June 11 opening game.

But far more were dispatched to the historic center, where anti-riot squads watch over foreign visitors weaving past the sprawling encampment of protesting teachers.

"It's weird to see so many police," Henry Rickets, a Canadian tourist passing through the area, told AFP. "In Canada there isn't any extra deployment of police, so it is a little worrying."

"I think that (tourists) might end up scared," said Miriam Sanchez, a Mexican citizen who is used to seeing large police deployments.

Violence in Mexico varies by region, with the worst rates located in states like Sinaloa, Guanajuato, Michoacan -- as well as Jalisco, where its capital of Guadalajara will host four World Cup matches.

The Akron stadium is located just a few kilometers from where authorities and search collectives discovered clandestine graves tied to criminal gangs.

FIFA inisists it has confidence in the safety measures Mexico has implemented ahead of the tournament.

- 'Guaranteed' peace -

AFP accompanied a training exercise for the elite military squad behind the operations against "El Mencho" and Ovidio Guzman, the son of "El Chapo" who was captured in 2023 and extradited to the United States.

Commandos for the National Guard Special Forces, or FERI, secured the training exercise area and rescued a "hostage" amid a haze of explosions, smoke, and rattling gunfire.

Snipers shot cutout enemies from hundreds of meters away, opening the way for airborne troops to invade a crowded mock village.

"The main goal is that this World Cup is one of the most successful in history," said lieutenant colonel Manuel Cabrera, FERI's second-in-command. "You can rest assured that peace is guaranteed here."

Z.Ramadan--SF-PST